The crime happened on May 20, 1987 in San Diego and involved the rape and murder of Grace Hayden, who was 79 years old at the time.

A single fingerprint from the left ring finger was discovered on the victim's kitchen stove, however, a DNA match was never made.

District Attorney Investigator Tony Johnson of the San Diego, California District Attorney's Office resubmitted the fingerprint through the national fingerprint database and received a match to 62-year-old Kevin Thomas Ford, who was believed to be residing in Robeson County.